1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a push button for a card connector and the card connector using the same, and especially to a bendable push button which can assume either a bent status (retracted status) or a straight status for normal storage purposes or card ejection purposes, respectively.
2. The Prior Art
PCMCIA card connectors have become popular in portable computers. The card connectors are commonly configured with an ejector mechanism mounted on a frame and driven by a push button to disconnect and eject IC cards therefrom. However, the push button normally extends beyond the terminal end of the frame a considerable distance thereby occupying too much space and hindering the compact requirement of the connector.
For fulfilling the compact requirement, a bendable push button and a related connector are disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 85103753 which is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The connector 9 comprises an ejector mechanism 91 having a push button 92 at the end thereof. The push button 92 has a linking block 93 and a button 94 pivotably engaged with the linking block 93. The linking block 93 comprises a body portion 93A, a lower plate 935 extending vertically from a bottom of the body portion 93A, and a rib 931 formed at an intermediate portion of the lower plate 935 thereby defining two cavities 932, 933 on opposite sides thereof. An elliptical hole 934 is defined through an intermediate portion of the rib 931 in communication with the cavities 932, 933. The button 94 has a body portion 94A and two tabs 942, 943 extending upward from a top surface of the body portion 94A thereby defining a reception space 941 therebetween. A pair of aligned holes 945, 946 are respectively defined in the tabs 942, 943. A recess 944 is defined in the body portion 94A of the button 94 for receiving a spring 95 and a ball 96, wherein the ball 96 has a greater diameter than the spring 95 thereby ensuring that the ball 96 is biased by the spring 95. The button 94 is pivotably connected to the linking block 93 by inserting a pivot 97 into the elliptical hole 934 of the linking block 93 and the aligned holes 945, 946 of the button 94, wherein the tabs 942, 943 are loosely retained in the cavities 932, 933 of the linking block 93 after the spring 95 and the ball 96 have been forced into the recess 944 by the bottom edge of the rib 931. At least a portion of the ball 96 extends beyond the recess 944 for rolling along the bottom edge and an adjacent side of the rib 931 during pivotable movement of the button 94 with respect to the linking block 93. The elliptical hole 934 provides clearance for the pivot 97 when the ball 96 rolls over a corner of the rib 931. Formation of the recess 944 is laborious thereby increasing manufacturing costs. Moreover, the pivot movement of the button 94 is not smooth when the ball 931 rolls over the corner of the rib 931. Additionally, fixing the ball in an opening of the recess 944 is very difficult due to a bouncing force from the spring 95.
Therefore, it is requisite to provide a new push button which is easily configured and has a reliable performance.